The whole area of employment references has the potential to be a costly legal minefield for employers and due care needs to be exercised when giving references in respect of former employees. A few important points to remember: 1.Whilst employers are not legally bound to givereferences, if references are issued, they must be accurate, fair [...]
Posts Tagged ‘HR News’
Pregnancy Related Discrimination
Posted by HR Solutions on September 26th, 2008
The record amount of €56,315 awarded yesterday to a former employee of a large bank highlights how costly pregnancy related discrimination, can be to employers. The employee concerned was discriminated against when she returned from maternity leave to “poor conditions of employment” in a different role to the one she held prior to going on [...]
Posted in Uncategorized 
Tags: discrimination, equality rights, HR News, pregnancy protection., unfair dismissal 
No Comments »Redundancy Best Practice
Posted by HR Solutions on August 28th, 2008
As redundancy figures for 2008 continue to rise with over 20,000 redundancies recorded for the first 7 months of the year, I would like to highlight some of the important issues to consider when making staff redundant, in order to avoid an unfair dismissal claim. Firstly, roles are made redundant and not individuals. The reasons for redundancy [...]
Employment Contracts
Posted by HR Solutions on July 16th, 2008
Did you know that a contract of employment exists whether written down or not, when anyone works for a regular payment and the terms of such a contract can be express or implied, verbal or written. However, when terms are not clearly documented, disagreements can easily arise and matters can be left open to interpretation [...]
Posted in Uncategorized Tags: employment contracts, HR News, statement of terms and conditions of employment No Comments »All About Annual Leave
Posted by HR Solutions on May 17th, 2008
As we approach the main Summer holiday season, I thought it would be useful to clarify some points on annual leave entitlement that I often get asked about. All employees (including temporary and part time employees) accrue annual leave based on hours worked, up to a maximum 4 working weeks when at least 1365 hours are worked [...]
It’s No Joke !
Posted by HR Solutions on April 1st, 2008
On this April Fools’ Day it is worth pointing to employers what the potential cost of practical jokes and inappropriate behaviour in the workplace can be! Back in 1995, the Chevron Corporation in the US paid out $2.2 million to 4 female employees who had objected to offensive jokes and sexist emails being circulated, such as one that [...]
Questions Not To Ask
Posted by HR Solutions on March 27th, 2008
A candidate who refused to fill in his date of birth on an application form in order to register with a recruitment agency was awarded €5,000 by the Equality Tribunal, who found that he had been discriminated against on the grounds of age. A candidate who was asked questions about the ages of her children and how long it [...]
Posted in Uncategorized Tags: employment discrimination, HR News, interview questions, recruitment No Comments »The Cost of Unfair Dismissal
Posted by HR Solutions on March 27th, 2008
The employment appeals tribunal continues to award significant compensation to employees who have not been dismissed fairly, including a recent award of over €154,000 to a manager in a docking company dismissed after 37 years service for assaulting a colleague at the Xmas party. One of the reasons that contributed to the dismissal being declared [...]
Posted in Uncategorized Tags: disciplinary procedure, employment appeals tribunal, HR News, unfair dismissal No Comments »Named & Shamed
Posted by HR Solutions on March 26th, 2008
The long awaited Employment Rights Compliance Bill was published on March 18th 2008 and contains a number of measures intended to overhaul the existing employment rights and compliance infrastructure. Proposals include provisions for greater penalties for non-compliance of up to €250,000 and/or 3 years imprisonment; publication of a comprehensive list of documents, which must be [...]
New Website
Posted by HR Solutions on February 27th, 2008
We are pleased to announce our new website, live February 2008!
We hope it’s easier to navigate and conveys our message and information in a cleaner, quicker and more satisfying way..
Please feel free to leave us your comments!
